The Whole Truth

Most of us have some understanding of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan immediately following his baptism. The first temptation was for Jesus to turn stones into bread. Jesus refused and quoted Scripture to reveal his source of power and truth. Jesus quoted this Old Testament Scripture from Deuteronomy. 

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NLT) 

Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 

Satan then went on to the second temptation. Satan took Jesus from the wilderness to the highest place in the Jerusalem Temple. It’s at this point that Satan decides to quote the Scriptures for himself. Satan quotes an Old Testament passage from Psalm 91 in his attempt to deceive Jesus. 

Matthew 4:5-6 (NLT) 

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” 

The Devil quotes the Bible. Does that surprise anyone? But there is one problem with the devil’s use of the Holy Scripture. The devil only used part of the Scripture, not the full passage. This (see below) is the full context of that Psalm 91 passage that Satan used against Jesus. The devil left out the beginning of this passage and inserted himself instead. 

Psalm 91:9-12 (NLT) 

If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 

10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. 

Do you see the deception? The real Word of God was clear: “If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter”, God will hold you up and protect you. Satan perverts and distorts the truth to deceive Jesus. However, Jesus knows Psalm 91 and quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 back to the devil. 

Matthew 4:7 (NLT) 

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’” 

Do you see it today? Satan is still doing the same thing today. Many people quote portions of the Scripture or take them out of context so that they might be used by Satan to pervert or distort the truth of God’s Word. 

One of the most common examples of this today is, “Do not judge or you will be judged”. 

Matthew 7:1 (NLT) 

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 

Yes, these words from Matthew 7:1 are the words of Jesus, and yes, it is the truth. But is that the whole truth? Is anything being left out or perverted to draw away from the whole truth? Should the church judge between right and wrong, good and evil? The Apostle Paul answers this question about judging others in his letter to the church at Corinth. 

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 (NLT) 

When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. 10 But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. 11 I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people. 12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13 God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.” 

This is why it is so important to study the Bible so that we might know the whole truth. If we know the Bible, it becomes difficult for the devil to deceive us by perverting the Scriptures that were meant to lead us into the whole truth. 

Maranatha, Hosanna, Hallelujah and Amen, 

Terry Cooper 

Lead Minister